Word Origin & History

ride O.E. ridan "ride" (as on horseback), "move forward, rock" (class I strong verb; past tense rad, pp. riden), from P.Gmc. *ridanan (cf. O.N. riða, O.Fris. rida, M.Du. riden, Ger. reiten), from PIE *reidh- "to ride" (cf. O.Ir. riadaim "I travel," O.Gaul. reda "chariot"). Meaning "heckle" is from 1912; that of "have sex with (a woman)" is from 1250; that of "dominate cruelly" is from 1583. The noun is first recorded 1759; slang meaning "a motor vehicle" is recorded from 1930; sense of "amusement park device" is from 1934. To ride out "endure (a storm, etc.) without great damage" is from 1529. ...To ride shotgun is 1963, from Old West stagecoach custom in the movies. To ride shank's mare "walk" is from 1846. To take (someone) for a ride "tease, mislead, cheat," is first attested 1925, Amer.Eng., possibly from underworld sense of "take on a car trip with intent to kill" (1927). Phrase go along for the ride "join in passively" is from 1960. A ride cymbal (1956) is used by jazz drummers for keeping up continuous rhythm, as opposed to a crash cymbal (ride as "rhythm" in jazz slang is recorded from 1936).